Long before the conception of a Lodge bearing the name of Oakley, Bromley masonry had been in a quandary. The centre at Cromwell Avenue was overcrowded; there was an almost total lack of parking and the old building was in poor shape, facing a huge bill for repairs and an ever-increasing bill for rates in the commercial centre of Bromley. There was no possibility of further expansion and the office for the new Province of West Kent was totally inadequate.
Leslie Austin was the Managing Director of the Masonic hall company and through business links with John Poole, the surveyor for the Norman estates, heard that Oakley House might become available.
Oakley House had been requisitioned during the war as a rehabilitation centre for injured servicemen and a large gymnasium had been built next to the house. After the war the gymnasium and shower rooms had been used for storage by Estate farmers and the house had been divided into flats and let to tenants. At the time the Masonic hall company acquired the building it had been vacated and had fallen into an appalling state of repair.
A working party of volunteers from the local Lodges was formed and work began to repair and convert the house. The task was immense, and the members involved continued to work together for some years to make the house really suitable for purpose. Apart from a few tradesmen, all the work was carried out by the members volunteering their time and skills; their ladies also provided support by organising fundraising events. In 1976, the Masonic Centre for Bromley moved to Oakley House. The Gym was converted into a banqueting hall and the garden to the front of the house to a car park.
Incidentally; after several years it became clear that, in spite of gas central heating and cookers, no gas bills had been received! Investigation found an incoming pipe but no meter. The gas board was called in and found an unmetered line had been laid across the field to the house and gymnasium during the war. Was this an example of “Covert Operations”? A Gas Meter had to be installed at the roadside on Bromley Common where it remains to this day.
The Volunteers, having worked together for so long had formed a close bond and decided to form a Lodge of their own taking the name from the house and as a result, Oakley Lodge No.8958 was formed and consecrated on 13th November 1980 with 33 founding members, two of whom are still members. Les Austin was installed as the first Master and all those who took part purchased their own regalia, some of which is still in use today.
After some discussion it was decided that we would work Taylor’s ritual and our first Joining Member was Jim Ruston, Secretary of the Taylor’s Standards Committee.
On the 19th November 2005, at the 101st regular meeting, Oakley Lodge celebrated its 25th anniversary with over sixty in attendance. On behalf of the Founders, Allan Redden presented the lodge with the Master’s collar inscribed with all twenty five Past Masters.
The Lodge has built on its foundation and is strong and flourishing. The strength of Lodge of Instruction is shown by the very high standard of our Ceremonies and the strong team of Officers and Past Masters.
Now in our 43rd year, we are as forward thinking and progressive now as we were from our inception.